Panthers’ Tkachuk reveals serious injury he played through during playoffs
The Florida Panthers have won the Stanley Cup for a second consecutive season.
Three of their stars battled a slew of pain to make sure the repeat could happen.
None bigger than star winger Matthew Tkachuk.
Shortly after the series-clinching 5-1 win over the Edmonton Oilers on Tuesday, Tkachuk finally revealed exactly what has been ailing him since the 4 Nations Face-Off in mid-February, announcing in an interview with TNT that he had a torn adductor muscle, which had torn all the way off the bone, in addition to a sports hernia.
“He was a mess,” Panthers coach Paul Maurice said.
Yet after missing the final 25 games of the season and being uncertain for the start of the playoffs, Tkachuk played in every game and finished averaging a point per game — 23 points (eight goals, 15 assists) in 23 games.
Meanwhile, top-line forwards Aleksander Barkov and Sam Reinhart — who finished first and second in voting for the Selke Trophy given annually to the league’s best defensive forward — also dealt with injuries late in the playoff run.
Maurice said Barkov split his hand open in Game 1 of the Stanley Cup Final, and Reinhart played through a Grade 2 MCL sprain that came from the hit by Sebastian Aho in Game 2 of the Eastern Conference final against the Carolina Hurricanes.
The two still were dominant throughout the playoffs. Barkov had 22 points (six goals, 16 assists) in 22 games. Reinhart had 23 points (11 goals, 12 assists) in 21 games, including four goals in Game 6 of the Cup Final on Tuesday to secure Florida’s repeat bid.
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